You’ve reminded me of a picture where two people are standing on opposites sides of a number and looking at. One person’s sees a six, the other a nine, and they are arguing about who is right. It’s all about perspective. I wasn’t in the city on that day and ever since that day I’ve only ever heard people who weren’t in the city on that day say, Never Forget, so it’s never really made any sense to me, just in the way the words are used and in the funny ways that language fails to communicate clearly the user’s intention.

I’m glad I asked you. I was afraid it would come off as rude considering the emotional weight of that day and the experiences that you had surrounding it. I’m glad you were able to escape the city for a time and recover. I was in Saratoga Springs, and even there, there was this sense of what do we do? How do we move on? How do we go to work when this is happening? I use the word happening because it seemed like something else would happen next. Everyone was just waiting, helplessly, worried, and wanting to know more for at least a week. It was a very strange time. A lot of the feelings I had on that day and afterward were feelings I had never felt before. I can’t imagine having actually been in the city on that day and afterward.